Cue Sports Championships Bring 45 Nations to Ahmedabad
Ahmedabad to Host Commonwealth Cue Sports Championships in October 2026
Ahmedabad will host the second Commonwealth Cue Sports Championships from October 7 to 10, bringing leading players from across the Commonwealth to Gujarat for a four-day international competition.
The championships will be held at the Veer Savarkar Sports Complex and will feature 10 medal events across five disciplines: snooker, English billiards, blackball, Heyball and 10-ball. Athletes from 45 countries are expected to take part.
The event will be held under the aegis of the World Confederation of Billiards Sports (WCBS) and the Billiards & Snooker Federation of India (BSFI), and will be organised by Apex Sports Promotion. The WCBS has confirmed the Ahmedabad dates and venue, with competition scheduled from October 8 to 10 after the athletes’ arrival and meeting on October 7.
For India, the championships mark the first time the Commonwealth cue sports event has been staged in the country. The first edition was held in Mauritius in 2025. The 2026 programme also adds English billiards, taking the competition beyond the four disciplines contested at the inaugural edition.
Men’s and women’s events will be held in each discipline. Four disciplines will have 16 players in each gender category, while English billiards will have eight players in each category.
The format gives players from both established billiards nations and developing cue sports countries an opportunity to compete on the same international stage.
Cue sports cover several forms of table-based competition in which players use a cue to strike balls. Snooker and English billiards have a long history in India, while pool disciplines such as 10-ball, blackball and Heyball have been gaining attention among players and organisers.
The expansion of the programme is also significant for the changing shape of cue sports in India. The country has a long record in billiards and snooker, with Indian players having won major international titles. At the same time, pool has become an increasingly visible part of the domestic cue sports scene.
Heyball, in particular, has received greater attention in India. The World Pool Association held its World Heyball Championships in Pune in August 2026, shortly before the announcement of the Ahmedabad championships. The event brought international players to India and added to the country’s recent run of major cue sports competitions.
The Ahmedabad championships will also take place at an important stage in the city’s sporting development. Ahmedabad was formally awarded the 2030 Commonwealth Games at the Commonwealth Sport General Assembly in Glasgow in November 2025. The decision means India will host the Commonwealth Games for the second time after New Delhi staged the event in 2010.
The 2030 Games will be the centenary edition of the Commonwealth Games. Commonwealth Sport currently lists 15 to 17 sports for the Ahmedabad Games, although the complete programme is still being finalised.
The cue sports championships therefore offer an earlier international test for Ahmedabad as it prepares for a much larger multi-sport event. They will bring athletes, officials and other members of the international sporting community to the city, while giving local organisers experience in conducting a competition involving overseas participants.
Ishaun Singh, President, World Pool Association (WPA), said, “Ahmedabad is becoming an increasingly important city on the international sporting map, and hosting the Commonwealth Cue Sports Championships here is a significant opportunity for our sport and for India. With the city now preparing to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games, this event gives us an opportunity to build a strong connection with the sporting community and audiences here. India has an extraordinary history in cue sports, and from everything we have seen through our recent events, I am almost confident that India can become one of the leading cue sports nations in the world.”
S. Balasubramaniam, President, Billiards & Snooker Federation of India (BSFI), said, “Hosting the Commonwealth Cue Sports Championships in Ahmedabad is a proud moment for Indian cue sports and comes at a significant time as the city prepares to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games. Bringing athletes from 45 countries to Ahmedabad will not only provide our players with an opportunity to compete at the highest level on home soil, but also showcase India’s rich cue sports heritage, capabilities and hospitality to the wider Commonwealth sporting community. We received a great response from the World Heyball Championships held in Pune earlier this month; we are confident this championship will create further momentum for the growth of cue sports in India.”
The championships could also provide commercial opportunities around cue sports. International competitions bring together athletes, equipment makers, promoters, broadcasters and other businesses linked to the sport. For India, repeated international events may help create a larger market for equipment, coaching, competitions and professional players.
The immediate focus, however, will be on the tables in Ahmedabad. With five disciplines, separate men’s and women’s competitions and players arriving from across the Commonwealth, the October championships will give Indian audiences a chance to watch several forms of cue sports at an international level.
The event also places Ahmedabad in the international cue sports calendar four years before the city hosts the 2030 Commonwealth Games.
